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    Riley's by the River

    3.1 (221 reviews)
    Open 8:00 am - 8:00 pm

    Riley's by the River Photos

    RILEY'S BY THE RIVER ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Touristy
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Riley's by the River

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    Entrance
    Tony A.

    This place is at a great location, and it's nicely decorated. Unfortunately, that's where the compliments end. After we were seated, our server appeared, although she was friendly, she wasn't to available to us, and then the food arrived .(took a long time to get to us) I ordered the Mediterranean Cod, and it was flavorless .The best thing on my dish was the baked beans, and I think they came out off a can. The vegetables on my plate appeared to be frozen, not fresh, they surely didn't taste fresh. We also had a lobster roll. It was definitely like something I've never seen before, small, unrecognizable pieces that looked dry and overcooked, I was told that it tasted as it looked. We also had a power bowl with grilled chicken. The avocado in it was not only hard but also turning black. We have never been served anything like that at any other place we have eaten at. Our waitress wasn't too helpful when I told her and showed her our problems with the food. Too bad, the place looked nice.

    Maestro L.

    So the service is great and the inside is clean. The view on the dining area is pretty much of the parking lot. Food ugghhhh. So the walleye nuggets are bland even though they bread themselves. The burger stay away from, these are frozen small and are horrible. No flavor, probably one of the worst burgers I ever ate. what you should get is the lobster roll, this is crazy good. This place is pricey for what you get, and you don't get much.

    This is mac and cheese with veggies.
    C T.

    I am so happy we found this place for breakfast, it was so good we came back and had to try their dinner. Waitress was super friendly and assertive. The view of the bay while you ate was awesome as well. If you are looking for great food and a good atmosphere, check this place out.

    fried fish and fries
    Kathleen L.

    Who was good it took a while they were busy but they had local fish which I had never had which was a plus and they were friendly and we're willing to accommodate and in this day and age at all you can ask for thank you so much

    If you're thinking Riley's By The River, choose the river instead...
    Patrick M.

    Disclaimer: I don't blame the server, I blame the establishment. If you're thinking Riley's By The River, choose the river instead... If I could give less than one star, I would. We should have known the service would have been poor considering our reservations were for 5pm and we didn't get seated until 5:15pm. After being seated, our party of 11 placed appetizer and drink orders. We waited until approximately 5:50pm and never received drinks or appetizers. It was fairly busy, but a restaurant in this area is likely busy all the time during the summer So hearing that "It's a busy night" from staff really doesn't sit well with me. To wait 40 minutes for waters is ridiculous. I could understand waiting longer for appetizers, but the basic unit of life is easy enough to serve within a 5 minute period of time. At this point, we hadn't even placed our meal orders at this point. We decided to leave and go elsewhere. We got our waters within 5 minutes of being seated and our meal orders within 10 minutes. I would probably still be waiting to place an order If I hadn't left.

    Potato skins.
    David K.

    I stopped here on a Friday night for dinner. Staff was welcoming and friendly. We had a very short wait to be seated. It was fairly busy but our server came right over to take our drink order. We had the drinks within 5 minutes and she took our food order. I got the Uncle Sam Burger. It was cooked perfectly, well seasoned and very tasty. My only complaint is the bottom bun got very soggy and made it messy to eat. If it was toasted a bit, that wouldn't happen. We also got the potato skins. They were huge and very tasty, a meal by themselves. The prices of everything are average with other places. Next time I'm back in the bay, I'll stop here again.

    Two eggs over easy, delicious toast, home fries, bacon

    Went for breakfast this morning before our Uncle Sam boat tour. This place is right next to the docks. Our server Ellie was great - she was efficient and friendly! Food was very good. Ordered raspberry stuffed French toast, eggs Bennie and two eggs, bacon and toast. All of our food can out quickly and was delicious. Zero issues!! Good coffee and iced tea. Would definitely recommend!

    Menu, May 2019
    Scott L.

    Took my family here for the uncle same boat tour, after two hours of viewing islands, plenty of photo taking, and baby sitting, we were energy deprived and hungry. Riley is located just next to the main port, decide to give a try. We were quickly seated, due to a large party (more than 4), we can't get the window booth, otherwise would be a more closer lake view for us. Ordered lobster roll, uncle same burger, garden salad and crab cake, kids get their thing-hot dog, penne. Everything was with good quality and taste, nothing particular outstanding, but that gives you a belly full meal. Waitress was quite friendly and give cookies to the kids, keep them clam all the time. If you expect a good meal by the lake, Riley is an easy choice.

    Dip & dip, and clam chowder
    Alexis G.

    Appetizers were probably the best part. Definitely needs more seasonings on main dishes. The seafood pasta was bland, as was the rib eye. Burgers were good, chicken tenders were crispy, the pizza rolls could've been better.. they were just.. different ‍ The server was new and seemed super shy, but great service overall.

    Howie H.

    stopped here for lunch while we were in thousand island. it wasn't busy and the wait for a table was about 15 minutes. we ordered the shrimp cocktail, cheese sandwich, crab cake, and steak sandwich with au ju dipping sauce. the shrimp was cooked perfectly, not dried out. the steak sandwich was really tasty, the bread was toasted and had a nice crunch, the au ju sauce complimented well. the cheese sandwich had two cheese in it. the bread was not buttered. personally i would like to have it buttered. crab cake had plenty of crab and not an overwhelming ratio of fillers. for drinks we had the lemonade and ice tea. the lemonade was on the very very sweet side. the tea saw fresher days.

    Taylor O.

    My family and I try to go to the Thousand Islands at least once a summer for camping season. It is a place of my childhood and I cannot imagine a summer without it. While spending a long weekend in the Islands, we decided to do a day trip to Alex Bay and Clayton. We needed a place to stop for lunch so we ventured into Riley's. We had never been before and it seemed like a nice lunch spot. It wasn't too busy and definitely had the staff to accommodate a rush. It was definitely a little crowded in the booth but nothing we couldn't deal with. We all got our drinks and food in a timely order. The chicken sandwich was HUGE and delicious. Everyone else enjoyed their food as well. Service was great too!

    Kiki L.

    Horrible service by Kim, horrible food!! This is a $11.99 cheeseburger called a Poutine (I asked for the gravy on the side) I never touched it, the appetizer I ordered was a $10 "dip dip" Which was supposed to be spinach artichoke dip and buffalo chicken dip with "crispy chips" it was actually a 2 oz Ramekin of slop served with the broken up crumbs at the bottom of a Tostitos bag, I ordered a Labatt blue light I was given Bud light my nephew waited 15 minutes for his virgin Shirley Temple, my husband asked for a honey mustard and ranch for his chicken salad and was only given ranch. This is the first time in my 45 years of life that I have tipped the waitress with a simple Penny and to be quite honest she didn't even deserve that

    Shaved Prime Rib Sandwich

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    2 years ago

    Service was excellent. Ambiance was nice. Food was average and somewhat over priced for the amount. All in all, a nice place to eat.

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    2 years ago

    Been there, done that, didn't like it. Food was less than mediocre. Staff was somewhere else. So I don't recommend it.

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    2 years ago

    Great breakfast - get the best eggs Benedict - you can I'll not regret it! Service was great and had a great view of the water

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    3 years ago

    Great food and service. The chief salad is huge big enough for 3 people. Drinks are average

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    Page 1 of 6

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    The Flashback Lounge - Great job on the BBQ, slaw, and cornbread guys!

    The Flashback Lounge

    3.9(8 reviews)
    25.5 mi
    $$

    Wouldn't recommend this place! Was excited to go and see their grand re-opening as they had…read moreadvertised they would be having some BBQ specials and new beers. HORRIBLE and rude customer service. Will not go back.

    So the reviews here so far range from bizarre to brief, but I wanted to highlight their food more…read morethan most have so far. I'm at my second visit now- Bluegrass, Blues, and BBQ is the event, Boots and Shorts is the band tonight. The wife and I are enjoying the music, and our BBQ plates are long gone. Hopefully they revisit this again, the flavors from the smoked pork, chicken, and ribs were testament to the time invested in their preparation. Our previous visit was on their first shot at featuring local stand up. The jokes were a little rough, but we really enjoyed trying our friend's recommendations for menu options. I'm not a fan of "hamburger pizza" in the least bit, but believe me when I tell you- try the bacon cheeseburger flatbread! I think it's the special sauce, but bacon is rarely a let down either. Their onion rings are easily among my favorites in town, and the chicken tenders are decent too (our friend raved about them, but I think he over sold them a bit- they weren't as mind-blowing as he was talking them up to be, maybe I just got a mediocre batch). Also, even while not being a big fan- the sweet potato fries were a way better option than the regular fries. Unfortunately there weren't any fried cheese curds (of course they're out- they're delicious!), and unfortunately there isn't any room left to stuff more food, but I look forward to being a repeat customer to work myself through their awesome menu and continue to sample the large variety of local beers. P.S. Love me some retro games, but with they'd flash back to the penny or nickle arcade game days...I still suck at most of these.

    Photos
    The Flashback Lounge - From the side

    From the side

    The Flashback Lounge - Cayetana on stage! great lighting and sound

    Cayetana on stage! great lighting and sound

    The Flashback Lounge - Some of the games (the instruments aren't usually piled in front there!)

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    Some of the games (the instruments aren't usually piled in front there!)

    Riley's by the River - breakfast_brunch - Updated June 2026

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